Please tell me if you see anything that needs fixing. For those of you that want to read it, go ahead(Its like 1200 words).
Chris DeProspo
Mr. Stephens
English 9H
January 14, 2010
Abraham Lincoln
What would be different about the United States if Abraham Lincoln had never been president? The country may be divided, or tainted by slavery. Few people truly understand the depth of his accomplishments within his lifetime. Even through the many ups and downs of his life, he proved to a very strong leader. Abraham Lincoln was one of the most positively influential presidents the United States has ever had because he guided the United States through the Civil War, had an excellent political career, and showed support and sympathy for the abolitionists.
Despite numerous hardships and setbacks, Abraham Lincoln was able to guide the United States through the Civil War. A leader’s capabilities are tested during times of trouble, and Abraham Lincoln proved that better than anyone else. The Civil war was the result of a build up on the issue of slavery, with neither the North nor the South willing to reach a compromise. The war started with the attack on Fort Sumter in 1861 (O’Brien). Lincoln was prepared to put down a small uprising, not a massive force. Both sides believed the war would be over quickly (Grabowski 45). Lincoln called in about 75,000 troops to stop the Southern Uprising (Grabowski 44). However, the South was prepared to fight. Lincoln was in charge of the North, which controlled 12 more states than the South did, and was more industrialized. Despite all this, the South was more militarily advanced (Grabowski 46).
The confederacy consisted of eleven states (Confederate). Lincoln attempted to recruit West Point graduate, the military genius Robert E. Lee. Lee declined the offer because he wanted to stay loyal to his native Virginia, a Southern territory. Lee proved to be a great asset to the South because of his extensive military knowledge, and excellent leadership capabilities (Grabowski 46). Lincoln originally chose General Whitfield Scott to command the Union army. However, due to Scott’s deteriorating condition, and lack of strategy, Lincoln fired Scott and replaced him with General George McClellan, who also proved a bad leader (Grabowski 47). In
1862, almost 5,000 soldiers lost their lives in one of the deadliest battles of the civil war (Woodworth). That same year, his son died of typhoid (O’Brien). Both of these events put a huge amount of stress on Lincoln. However, the worst was yet to come. In the deadliest battle of the civil war, the Battle of Gettysburg, there were a reported 45,000 casualties (Woodworth). After he fired McClellan, Lincoln even tried to command the Union army himself (O’Brien). Fortunately, Lincoln finally found a general he could trust, Ulysses S. Grant. Grant was able to win many battles in the south, including The Battle of Vicksburg, and the battle of Chattanooga. However, Grant was criticized because he pushed toward the capital of the Confederacy, Richmond, Virginia. In doing so, he lost a fair amount of his troops (Simpson). Lincoln’s goals went from preserving the North, to giving freedom to the slaves. In 1863, Lincoln released the document that led to the freedom of the slaves across the United States, the Emancipation Proclamation (Holzer).
Four years into the war, his popularity was at rock bottom, mainly because in the eyes of the public, the war was going nowhere. Lincoln didn’t want to get re-elected, but he was re-nominated by the republicans in the election of 1864 (O’Brien). However, the main reason he was elected was because of a string of Northern victories gave voters hope in President Lincoln (O’Brien). The next year, Robert E. Lee finally surrendered to the North. The civil war was finally over (Woodworth). It was not easy to get the U.S through the Civil War, but with patience and perseverance, President Lincoln got the job done effectively.
Abraham Lincoln’s excellent political understanding allowed him to better deal with the issues at hand. Abraham Lincoln was a member of the Whig party, which lasted about twenty years, from 1834- 1854. The Whig party was formed because of a dislike of Andrew Jackson, or “King Andrew” as the members of the Whig party called him (Whig). The Whig party was led by well known Republicans like John Quincy Adams, and Henry Clay. Abraham Lincoln joined the party in the 1840’s (Savage).
By 1832, Abraham Lincoln had become interested in politics, so much so he decided to run for a position in the Illinois house of Representatives in August of 1832. He lost the race, and to him, his goal of being president couldn’t be reached. However, in August 1834, he was elected into the Illinois house of Representatives where he served five terms. He started to attend Whig party conventions, and in August of 1846, he won his election to Congress as the sole Whig Party representative (Balser).
By December of the next year, Abraham Lincoln took a seat in the U.S. house of representatives, where he served only one term. In June of 1848, Lincoln attended the national Whig party convention in Philadelphia. In 1849, Lincoln ended his first and only term in the U.S. house of representatives (Balser).
In 1856, the Whig party fell apart. This was mainly due to the election of 1852, where the Whig’s nominated General Whitfield Scott, a poor choice, and once he was defeated, Lincoln and the other leaders left the Whig party, or quit politics permanently. The voter base defected to the Republican party, as did Lincoln, who remained a Republican for the rest of his political career (Why).
Starting in 1857, Lincoln had seven debates with Democrat Stephen Douglas, who supported slavery, and would eventually run against Lincoln in the presidential race. Douglas created the Kansas-Nebraska act, which
Between 1849 and 1854, Lincoln settled down a bit, not doing anything really significant. However, 1854 would prove to be a crucial year for him. In October of 1854, he delivered his famous anti-slavery speech in Peoria, Illinois where he argued against Stephen Douglass over the Kansas-Nebraska act. It was at this point where Lincoln set the stage for his political future, and became more of an abolitionist (Abraham). He also delivered another famous anti-slavery speech entitled, “The Lost Speech,” in Bloomington Illinois, in which he showed the support he offered the abolitionists in their fight against slavery.
Thanks for all those who read it!
chris